Thunder Player Profile: Sebastian Telfair

With the NBA season fast approaching, the Thunderous Intentions team breakdown the players on the Oklahoma City roster. Follow the series as we uncover a player each day from now until the start of the NBA season!

Name: Sebastian Telfair

Number: 31

Height: 6’0″

Weight: 170 lbs.

Position: Point Guard

Last NBA Season (2012-2013) stats: 5.6 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.6 SPG (with Suns until traded at deadline to Raptors)

Player Background:

Choosing #31 to serve as a reminder of his formative days on 31st Street in Coney Island, there was a lot of hype surrounding Sebastian Telfair as a senior at Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School. As the cousin of Stephon Marbury, big things were expected for the kid who had committed to Louisville, and head coach Rick Pitino. The hype surrounding him eventually got so big that he decided to back out of his commitment to Pitino and the Cardinals, and go for the big money that only the NBA can provide. Once it was all said and done, Telfair was selected 13th overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2004 NBA Draft.

During his rookie season, Telfair was promoted to the starting lineup by interim head coach, Kevin Pritchard, with 28 games remaining. Unfortunately, the Blazers went 5-23 during that span. He began the next season as a starter under new head coach, Nate McMillan, but ended up squeezed out by increasing media pressure, as his stats were not considered par for an NBA starter.

The next year, he was sent to the Celtics with Theo Ratliff and an ’08 2nd-round pick for Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrenz, and Randy Foye. The Blazers then subsequently traded Foye to the Timberwolves for Brandon Roy. Telfair had to settle for #30 during his year with the Celtics, as #31 had been retired by the Celtics in honor of “Cornbread” Cedric Maxwell less than 3 years prior. During the offseason, Telfair was traded again, along with Theo Ratliff (again), Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and two 1st-round draft picks in the deal that sent Kevin Garnett to Boston.

The Timberwolves gave Telfair #3, which was the same number that his cousin, Marbury, wore when he played for them. The reason he wasn’t given #31 was that it had already been claimed by SG Ricky Davis. He easily had his best pro season in his 1st year with the Timberwolves, averaging 9.3 points and 5.9 assists per game. After his “breakout season”, he was re-signed to a 3-year contract. After re-signing, he ended up playing for his 6th head coach in 5 years when Randy Wittman was fired and replaced by interim head coach, Kevin McHale, midseason. During the subsequent offseason, he was traded to the Clippers, along with Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen to acquire Quentin Richardson.

As the season wore on, Telfair failed to make an impression, and was traded shortly before the deadline as part of a 3-team, 6-player deal that saw him acquire Antawn Jamison as a teammate for his new Cavaliers squad. He didn’t last long in Cleveland though either, as he was traded back to the Timberwolves during the offseason along with Delonte West for Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins.

He ended up signing with the Suns right after the NBA lockout ended in December of 2011, and managed to show the team enough for them to pick up his second-year option. Although he wasn’t particularly impressing anyone in Phoenix, he showed up on the radar of the Toronto Raptors. Just before the trade deadline that year, the Raptors talked the Suns out of him in exchange for Hamed Haddadi and a 2nd-round pick. Although sadly, the Raptors didn’t get what they thought they would, and allowed Telfair’s contract to expire during the offseason.

Out of an NBA job, Telfair decided to take his talents to the Tianjin Ronggang of the Chinese Basketball Association. He apparently did enough there to get on the radar of the Oklahoma City Thunder, because after a year out of the NBA, he’s back!

Offensive Breakdown:

Honestly, there isn’t much to say here. When you’ve had chance after chance, and the highest scoring average you’ve ever posted is a 9.8 per game, I think that says everything that needs to be said. When his (by far) best average for assists is a 5.9, that doesn’t speak well for his effectiveness as a distributor either. And at an even 6 feet, he can’t be expected to realistically contribute high numbers of offensive rebounds.

Defensive Breakdown:

Highest number of defensive rebounds averaged per game: 1.5 during his second year as a pro for the Blazers. And again, at an even 6 feet tall, he can’t be realistically expected to contribute decent block numbers either. The reason Nick Collison has spent his entire career with one NBA team, despite his low offensive numbers, is that he provides height and hustle on defense. The only thing Telfair can be expected to provide is a steal per game, which he hasn’t even pulled off since his last season as a Timberwolf during the 2008-2009 NBA season.

X-Factor:

The only x-factor Telfair initially provided when he first hit an NBA court was the fact that he shared genes with another NBA prospect expected for big things in Marbury. Unfortunately, much like Marbury, Telfair ended up proving himself to be far more hype than substance to this point. Telfair should consider himself lucky he’s even getting another shot in the NBA, even if it is on the Thunder’s Injured Reserve roster.

Overall:

Telfair has already had to leave the US once to avoid accumulating court rust. Unfortunately, his return will probably see him doing just that. Unless Russell Westbrook drops, I wouldn’t even expect to see Telfair on the bench. Honestly, it might even take an injury to Reggie Jackson as well before Telfair gets to suit up, as Jeremy Lamb might get moved over to PG, and Anthony Morrow could take over at SG. Telfair might get to show up to practice, but he can only expect to make the IR roster for the foreseeable future.